Scoring opportunities were scarce Thursday night at Fitzpatrick Stadium, but Gorham striker Cody Elliott made the most of his.

He took care of all of the scoring as the Rams became the first team to defeat Portland this season in a Class A South boys’ soccer game.

Elliott converted a penalty kick during the first half and headed in a goal in the second to propel Gorham to a 2-0 win.

“I think we really managed the game well tonight,” said Gorham Coach Tim King after his club improved its record to a 9-1-1. “We played really smart and we managed situations. We played a good game against a real good team.”

“We’re very small and we’ve got to play a certain way,” King added. “We did a good job of running the tempo tonight.”

Elliott’s goals were only the second and third allowed by the Bulldogs, who had shut out nine of their first 10 opponents.

“They’re a good defensive squad and they’re tough to score against,” King said. “We were lucky to get a couple against them.”

Elliott opened the scoring 16 minutes into the game after the Bulldogs were called for a handball in front of the Portland goal. Elliott put the penalty kick just inside the left post, well beyond the reach of Portland goalie Bobby Brittingham.

“I want to go to the same spot, but I try to look at the keeper and see where he’s going,” said Elliott, who also put in a penalty kick Sept. 29 during a 2-0 win at Westbrook. “I just have the feeling if I put it in the right spot it will go in.”

Elliott then scored in the 54th minute when he headed the ball inside the right post from about 10 yards out following a corner kick.

“Initially, I was just hanging back to get any ball that was coming out,” he said. “Nobody was on me and I tried to get into space, and luckily I put it in.”

Portland’s best scoring opportunities came in the first half, but Gorham goalie Trenton Bassingthwaite came up big every time.

In the 19th minute, he came far off his line to break up a run by Diquilutilo Mambo just inside the penalty area.

With less than seven minutes left in the first half, Bassingthwaite jumped to snare the ball before it hit the bottom of the crossbar on Brady Cyr’s direct kick from just beyond the left side of the penalty area.

Moments later, Bassingthwaite, who made seven saves to post his seventh shutout, stopped Josue Madrid Brenis point blank following one of Gorham’s few turnovers.

“He made a couple of key saves, but he also controlled his box real well,” King said. “He came out and got the ball, and got us out of trouble when he needed to.”

“It’s a little different when you don’t have (all of) your people, but everybody gave it their all,” Portland Coach Rocco Frenzilli said. “I’m proud of the way the kids fought. They played strong and it just wasn’t our night.”

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